Your pain, their profit

The British media have caught on and are now using the collective psychic pain felt by Arsenal supporters over their lack of signing a Defensive Midifelder to push their papers. Over the summer, the press have stated that Arsenal have bid on Inler, Barry, Alonso, M’Bia, and Appiah. There’s some question over how serious the interest in Barry was, so, for the sake of argument, let’s just drop him as a target. Still, that’s no less than three players that Wenger put in a serious bid for and one player who may yet join us on a free transfer if he doesn’t choose London’s fourth best Premier League team. These revelations that Arsenal were so agressive in the transfer market have shocked many people, including those folks in the press. After all, we all heard Arsene say, time and again, that the team was good enough as it stood. The press though are now running with the story and we’re again being linked with each of these players — in January. Plus, the Telegraph throws one extra in, Sebastian Giovinco, just for fun. YAY, it’s like the transfer window is still open!

The only way this works for the press is that we’re all on such pins and needles about not signing a defensive midfielder this summer that we’re still begging for news, any news, that Arsenal will sign someone. It’s great press, and whenever Stephen Appiah takes a dump the reporters are there waiting. So they can publish such blockbuster stories as “No Decision Yet” and “Decision Some Time Next Week, or Later.”

Let me help you all the best I can. Alonso is not walking through that door. Inler was too afraid to play in the Premier League, so we don’t want him any way. M’Bia? Who? And Appiah will either sign for Arsenal and have a real shot at winning the Champions League, or will choose to play to keep West Ham from making the drop. If he chooses the latter, we don’t need him because it would mean that, like Inler, he just wasn’t confident enough to play under the bright lights of the Emirates. Sure, he may say the contract was better at West Ham and he wants to “build” West Ham, blah blah, but honestly? Sometimes, like Adebayor did, you take a pay cut to play for a team like Arsenal, that’s what Arsene means when he talks about building a culture at the club.

So, Appiah will either sign or he won’t. If he does, then we’ll all welcome him with open arms. If not, oh well, it’s for the best.

I always get battered. I’m used to it now and it doesn’t bother me at all. The main thing is to ignore them and get up. If you don’t, they know they have got you in their pocket. You just have to get up, give them a little smile and they know you will be at them again. That’s what you have to do – remind them that you won’t go away. I will keep doing the right things and maybe the referees will recognise it.

YES! Get up and get on with it. The FA should have adopted this statement as their mantra for their ridiculous “get on with the game” program. As I’ve said before, this type of simulation (the Ronaldo style of “I feel contact I go down”) is the most destructive, disruptive, and difficult to stamp out. But if the FA just adopt Theo’s statement as their philosophy and book anyone who is rolling around on the ground, remonstrating the ref or generally simulating injury then the game would be 100% more enjoyable to watch. Hell, Theo’s statement almost makes me want to watch him play on Wednesday, almost.

Enough about that… I guess there’s a lot of matches tomorrow in which a lot of Arsenal players have a good chance to get injured. Let’s hope they don’t because Arsenal have to play Blackburn on Saturday.

I never heard of this rule before. Can anyone enlighten me and if so, how would this affect Arsenal since only Clichy, Walcott, Ramsey and Wilshire from the first team would qualify. Does it mean we throw in the likes of Merida, Simpson, Barazite and Lansbury just to make up numbers.

Hey, Carib, sorry, I was away all day. That rule is the current rule for qualification and Arsenal do qualify. Note that the rule states “academy” players, which is how Cesc qualifies, since he came through the academy.

One of the many proposals that UEFA want to implement is to make having an English passport a requirement of Academy players, and then make those players a requirement for qualification to the CL, this is often referred to as the 7+5 rule.